Sanctuary
by fluteskickbrass
Summary: Somehow Captain Malcolm Reynolds’ heists never seemed to go off without a hitch. Something always caused him to deviate. On more than a few occasions, the cause was Reavers having the same target in mind that he had. Such was the case at this moment.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello all! This is my first Firefly fic, but not my first fic. I recently came across this series and began having dreams about it… yes, I'm weird like that… and one I had recently made me want to get back to writing. (which I haven't done in about a year) So, you lucky Firefly flans get to see the fruits of my subconscious brain. While I totally believe that Mal and Inara belong together, my sleeping brain thinks **_**I**_** should be with Mal… so, I changed up a few details of my dream to make it jive with the series and take the **_**me**_** out of it. Unfortunately, this would not work as a Mal/Inara story, so let's hope for next time.**

**About this story: I have no idea where it's going. I'm open to ideas as long as you give them to me.**

**I also don't have a title for this (as you may have noticed) and would GREATLY appreciate anyone with any ideas.**

Somehow Captain Malcolm Reynolds' heists never seemed to go off without a hitch. Something always caused him to deviate. On more than a few occasions, the cause was Reavers having the same target in mind that he had. Such was the case at this moment.

Mal had snuck upstairs in the palacial estate of Sir Walt Havers when he heard Jayne's desperate shout. Havers was a tyrannical despot who governed over this small moon in an uncaring manner. Mal never much cared for those who walked over the less fortunate, but that wasn't the reason Mal and his crew had targeted Havers.

Havers was rudding rich.

"MAALLLL!!! REAVERS!!!!"

As soon as the shout reached Mal's ears, another more feminine scream came from the room next to his.

Karáh Valieri was startled by an unknown voice warning of Reavers and let out a frightened scream. This was not the first time she had come in contact with the abominations, and if they were going to find her, she was not going to be aware of it.

She scrambled to search for the vial of Peristaproline she had hidden in every room she frequented. As her hands closed around the vial's reassuring coolness, a loud bang shook her locked door causing her to let out another frightened scream.

With shaking hands, she stuck the syringe into the vial and extracted the distinctive teal liquid.

Just then, the door burst open and Karáh squeezed her eyes shut and jabbed the need into her arm.

She pushed the plunger down slowly as she left her consciousness behind her.

"Jayne! Get your gorram ass up here!" Mal shouted as he effortlessly snatched the syringe away from the strange girl's limp hand.

"Mal! Reavers! Let's MOVE!" came Jayne's frightened reply.

"JAYNE! NOW!" Mal bent to lift the girl's nearly limp body. "Hang on, don't go dying on me," he told her, not knowing if she heard him or not.

"No…. not Reavers… I won't…" With that groggy broken declaration, the small body in Mal's arms went completely limp.

"Jayne! Get the loot and let's get the hell off this moon!" he yelled running down the stairs with the girl in his arms. "Wash, Reavers are here. I'm thinking a quick getaway would not be a bad idea," he said into his talkie.

"Reavers?! _T__a shi suo you di yu de diao zi de ma_!" came his pilot's response.

"Tell the doc to get ready, too. I'm going to need him in the medical bay."

Carrying a limp form high against his chest was not a smart thing when he knew there was going to be some fighting going on, so he shifted her in his grasp and lifted her over one shoulder. With his free hand, he grabbed onto his gun and pulled it out of its holster.

As he was running out the back door behind Jayne, the front door burst open and Reavers flooded into the house.

"Jayne!" Mal yelled.

Understanding his meaning, Jayne doubled back and threw an activated grenade into the house and slammed the door. The two of them took off running to avoid the blast and the Reavers.

They reached Serenity and ran onto the ship just as Kaylee shut the door.

"Wash, we're in. Let's hit the sky."

"So, uh… why'dya bring a girl with you?" Jayne asked finally noticing what Mal had brought on the ship.

"She ain't dead… Reavers wouldda got her…"

"That stopped you before?"

Mal gave his gunman a look that said to leave well enough alone. "Store the loot." With that, he liften the unconscious girl high on his chest, no longer fearing Reavers attacking his person and headed towards the medical bay with Kaylee hot on his heel.

"Who is she, Cap'n?"

"How the hell would I know?" he replied, trying not to jostle his burden as he maneuvered through Serenity's awkward steel doors.

"Doc! I got a patient here for you," Mal said as he gently placed the girl on the table in the middle of the room.

"Who is she?" Simon Tam asked, not recognizing her.

"Why is everybody asking as if I know?" Mal replied.

"Uh, Mal… I hate to tell you this, but uh… she's dead."

"No she ain't." Mal rifled through his pockets to produce the syringe he had taken from her. "She injected herself with this go se… is it lethal?"

Simon looked at the liquid. "That appears to be Peristaproline. It slows the heart and breathing."

"She wanted to look dead to the Reavers so they wouldn't touch her," Mal said in realization.

"Yes, that is what I believe as well. If this was her first syringe, however, I think she'll be fine. I'll give her a shot of adrenaline to get her heart pumping, but she'll need to be watched throughout the night. Also, if she's not awake within six hours, I will have to put her under some water to shock her senses into responding. How long has it been since she did this to herself?"

"Not more'n ten minutes, I'd say," Mal replied.

"Yes, I do believe she'll be fine."

Simon let out a large yawn. He hadn't slept in the past 4 days and was now looking forward to watching an unconscious stranger for another night.

"Doc, go to bed, I'll watch the little bit. Make sure she wakes up and whatnot," Mal offered. "If I need help, I'll just ask that genius-brained sister of yours."

Simon nodded tiredly and gave the not-quite-dead-yet girl a shot of adrenaline before trotting off to his bunk.

Now that he had the place to himself, Mal allowed himself to finally take a decent look at his new ward. She was pretty enough, long tresses of black satin fell against the medical table, a stark contrast to her milky white skin. She was short and thin. Unfortunately, he noticed that she was thin due to malnutrition instead of a strong physique. Mal's gaze drifted from her face down to her slender neck until he noticed something that made his blood boil.

Just at the base of her neck, nearly covered by the collar of her shirt, was a noticeable discoloration that marred her perfectly unblemished skin. "Son of a whore!" he exclaimed.

At the sound of his voice, his guest shifted and made a sniffling murmur, but did not wake up.

_This was going to be a long night _Mal thought as he settled in for his vigil.

Karáh was drowning in warmth. _I must be dead… this is what death feels like… death feels a lot like rain…_

She shifted and opened her eyes only to snap them shut again as blinding white light and streams of water from a shower head got into them. "Ho- shit!"

"Nice to see you're awake, small one," came an unfamiliar voice.

She jumped and nearly slipped, but two very strong hands shot out and saved her from seriously injuring herself at the last minute.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Ya know, I been wonderin the same thing about you ever since I brought you on my sorry boat." She looked into the strikingly deep blue eyes of the man that held her up, ignoring the increasing wetness of his clothes. "I'm Captain Malcolm Reynolds and this here's Serenity," he said patting the walls lovingly. "And you are?"

Startled by the impropriety of the situation and having a past that taught her not to trust men, Karáh hesitated.

"Come now, I ain't gonna hurt ya, hell I saved ya from the Reavers."

At the mention of Reavers, she tensed and pulled away from Captain Malcolm Reynolds' grasp.

"There ain't nothing to be scared of, lil bit, we got away clean. Now why don't you tell me your name?" Mal asked with a kind smile.

"K-K-Karáh Valieri. M-my name is Karáh Valieri."

"Ah! She speaks! That's shiny. Well, Karáh Valieri, it is sure a mighty fine pleasure to see that you're awake and talking. We were scared we lost you for a moment there, but lucky for me, I got a genius on board and we got ya fixed right back up."

His new shipmate just look at him with her big piercing emerald eyes, her fear and confusion apparent.

"Right. Let's get you out of this shower and those wet clothes and then you can have some grub and meet the rest of my crew, that sound good?"

She only shivered and nodded.

_Right… this is going to be interesting._

**AN: So there is the beginning of my story, I hope you all enjoyed it so far. I really have no idea where to go with it, so please comment and give me ideas! I promise shoutouts and cookies for those who do! :D**

**Chinese:**

_ta shi suo you di yu de diao zi de ma _– whores in hell

(I think that's all I used…)


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: HI!!! Sooo soo sorry I kept you all waiting for 2 MONTHS for an update. It just so happens that the day after I posted that first chapter, my laptop decided to not turn on. But FEAR NOT!!! I have my laptop working and hopefully it will stay that way for a long time. I have also written about 5 or 6 fairly long chapters out by hand while waiting for Microcenter to fix my computer.**

**Here is the SECOND chapter of my Firefly fic. I plan to have chapter 3 up tonight or tomorrow just because I feel guilty for starting and then not giving you anything to continue with.**

**I'm still looking for better title ideas. I have one in mind: "Free at Last" but it sounds kinda hokey.**

**DISCLAIMER: Joss Whedon owns these characters. Lucky bastard.**

**Also: parts of this sound incredible cheesy and hokey… I apologize. I'll try to fix that in the future.**

Captain Malcolm Reynolds took Karáh to the mess where people were just sitting down to breakfast. For the most part, they all seemed kinds enough… that is except for a large burly man Mal introduced as "Jayne Cobb… just ignore him." While everybody smiled at her with kind eyes, Jayne leered and asked Mal if he wanted someone named Vera.

Karáh saw Mal give the man he called Jayne a disgusted look and told him to leave.

Seeing the anger in Mal's eyes, Jayne brooked no argument and left muttering "I never get any of the good loot."

"Ignore Jayne, he's just a great big teddy bear. He don't mean no harm," the bubbly girl introduced as Kaylee said.

From a distance came a shout of "No I ain't!"

"I seen you earlier when the Cap'n first saved you from them Reavers… you looked a mite deader then," Kaylee said then blushed. "What I mean to say is, you look a lot prettier."

"Kaylee, she looks like a drowned rat. Shiverin' like one too," Mal corrected. "One a' you ladies care to get some clothes our new guest?"

A graceful woman stepped into the room. She had dark features and was dressed in the finest clothes Karáh had ever seen. "I will," the woman said.

"Aw c'mon Inara, I think my clothes would be more flattering than yours!" the pilot joked. The dark Amazonian woman next to him elbowed him in the ribcage. "Okay, ow."

"Yes, Wash… Hawaiian shirts would look much better compared to Inara's finery," Mal interrupted. "Thank you Inara."

Karáh shrank back as Inara glided closer. She took one of Karáh's hands in hers and said "You must be Karáh. Jayne was grumbling about you. My name is Inara."

Karáh didn't know why, but she felt calmer looking into Inara's reassuring face. She simply nodded with her mouth slightly ajar.

"Come. My shuttle is this way." Inara began to walk away pulling Kar'ah with her. Karáh made a soncerned noise and pulled back and looked at Mal.

Reading that look correctly, Mal told her, "I ain't goin' nowhere, darlin'. I'll come find you in 20 minutes."

His reassurances in mind, Kar'ah allowed herself to be towed out of the mess to an adjoined shuttle where Inara helped clean her up.

"He likes you, you know," Inara told the still silent girl. "He won't say it or show it outright, but I can tell." While she still didn't say anything, there was now a sparkle in Karáh's eyes.

Back in the mess, Zoe brought up something that had been bothering Mal. "She didn't say a word in here. All she did was hide behind you as best she could. Do you think she's mute, sir?"

"No, she ain't mute, she told me her name. I think she's just scared."

"What are we going to do with her, sir?"

"Oh can we keep her, sir? PLEEEEASE!!?? I'll take her for walks and feed her and-"

"Wash, don't you have a ship that needs piloting?" Mal interrupted.

"Do I?" Wash looked sheepishly at his wife. "Oh, that's right! I do." He rose. "Duty calls. Bye dear," he said and kissed Zoe on the cheek before he left.

"What? I don't get no kiss?" Mal joked.

Wash laughed and made his way to the bridge.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do with her just yet. Probably wait for her to get better from whatever is wrong with her and then find a decent world to leave her on," Mal said getting back to his first mate's question. "And who knows when that'll be."

"We can't just leave her on some world, sir-"

"We won't. We can always leave her with someone we trust. I wasn't talkin' 'bout abandoning her. Now, I gotta go save her before Inara frills her up too much." With that Mal left the mess and headed towards Inara's shuttle.

He found Karáh in one of Inara's flowy kimonos sitting cross-legged on the bed while Inara brushed the tangles from her wet hair.

River sat in front of her, mirroring Karáh's position and stared directly into her eyes.

"She doesn't say anything," River stated, "but she tells me things. Terrible thing."

"Yeah? What terrible things does she tell you?" Mal asked startling both Inara and Karáh.

"Can't tell." River stood up and walked towards him. "She'll tell you. She's not ready," she assured him as she passed by.

"Okay then. Karáh, are you ready for the grand tour? I'll show you where you can sleep and whatnot," Mal offered.

Karáh hesitated for but a second before nodding eagerly and climbing off of Inara's bed. As they were leaving, she looked back at Inara in thanks.

The Companion understood and replied, "You're welcome."

Mal showed Karáh the ship, telling her stories of the shenanigans that had gone on since they'd been in the black. He was trying to get her to loosen up and laugh or smile.

At one point he was telling the story of doing a job on a moon where Jayne was a hero and he thought he may have seen a slight quirk of her lips in an upward fashion.

"Here ar the passenger quarters. You'll be staing in this dorm right here as the rest are otherwise occupied." He showed her into the remaining passenger dorm and flipped on the light.

Karáh squinted at the sudden brightness.

"Oh, sorry," he said as he flipped the lights off.

"It's okay," she said in a small voice.

He looked at her shocked. "You spole!"

"I'm sorry…"

"No, that's a good thing. My people were beginning to think you were mute."

"I'm not," she replied simply.

"I've noticed."

"I-… I think I'll rest if that's alright." Karáh looked at him as if she was unsure of herself.

"Oh, sure… not a problem. It's just…" Mal wanted to ask her about the things River had mentioned, but decided against it.

She looked at him questioningly.

"Nothing. I'm a bit tired as well. I'm going to open a connection between our rooms in case you need me for anything." Mal went over to the comm. Panel and did so.

Just as he was leaving, Karáh spoke: "Thank you."

"For?"

"Everything. If eel sage with you. I don't know why, but I trust you."

That gave him pause. "You shouldn't."

"I do. Good night." Karáh got into bed as mal left the room.

After making sure there was no immediate need for him, Mal made his way to his bunk.

After what seemed like only a few minutes of much needed sleep, Mal was startled to consciousness by the sound of soft screams coming from the comm. Link to Karáh's room.

He shot up and ran through Serenity to the passenger dorms.

He was surprised by River sitting cross-legged on the floor facing away from Karáh's dowm in the middle of the hallway.

"River-?"

"Had to turn away from her dreams, but they wouldn't let her leave…"

"River, what-"

"Can't tell… won't tell… gottta find out on his own."

Mal sighed. "Obviously."

He rushed into the room to find Karáh tossing and turning, quietly crying and begging against the nightmare that plagued her.

He gathered her in his arms and quietly rocked her awake. "Shh, Karáh. It's only a dream. You're safe."

Hearing his voice, Karáh finally realized where she was. She was still for a moment before crumbling into tears.

"Shh, it's okay, Karáh I'm here. Nothin' in the 'verse is going to hurt you here."

"I'm sorry. I- I didn't mean to- to be such a b-bother. I just- just…" her apology dissolved once again into tears.

Mal comforted her as best he could, rocking her back and forth until the two of them fell asleep in the bed.

The next morning, Mal woke up with Karáh's soft, warm body nestled tightly against his own. It was at that moment he realized he was in big trouble.

**AN: REVIEW PLEASE!!! I'm more or less desperate for feedback.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So here is chapter 3. Still mostly in the exposition phase… little bit of drama here and there in this one.**

**DISCLAIMER: as much as I want a Captain Mal, Joss Whedon won't give him to me. Not even as a birthday present. Jerk.**

Over the next few days, Karáh kept mostly to herself. She still hadn't spoken to anyone but Mal, however, she didn't seem to mind river following her around everywhere she went.

After the first night, Karáh and Mal always seemed to end up in the same bed.

The second night, Mal woke up to the hatch of his bunk and soft feet padding down the ladder.

"Huh?... What?" Mal asked still somewhat asleep. "Karáh? What's wrong?"

"I um… I… I'm sorry… I-I'll leave… it was stupid…" She turned to leave.

"Karáh, no, wait… what's wrong?" Mal asked walking towards her.

"I'm sorry, I should have stayed in my room… I just couldn't sleep… I'll go now, sorry." Again, she turned to leave.

"Karáh…" Mal started. "Um… do- do you want to talk?"

She looked at him for a moment. "Not really… I just didn't want to be alone."

"You can stay here… that is, if you like…"

She nodded. "Thank you," she said in a small voice.

Every night after that, Mal had grown accustomed to having Karáh's warm body next to his.

One night he woke up with a cold empty mattress next to him. Concerned, he left his bunk to look for her.

He first checked the kitchen in case she got hungry and had decided to look for a bite to eat.

Not finding her there, he decided to check her room in the passenger dorm, however on the way he found her sitting on the bridge over-looking the cargo hold.

"Karáh… I- I… is something wrong?"

"Oh, Mal… you scared me," she said not answering his question; her voice the only acknowledgement of his presence. Beyond that, she stayed perfectly still, staring absentmindedly at the same spot on the wall.

"Karáh?"

She let out a soft snuffle giving him yet another sign that not everything was alright/

"What is it?" he asked sitting down next to her, hanging his legs over the cold metal imitating her position. "Was it the dream again?"

She quietly nodded and wiped away a stray tear.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she shook her head.

"Okay."

They say in silence. At some point he put his arm over her shoulder and pulled her close.

She finally spoke.

"I was training to be a Companion…" Distress covered her face.

Mal stayed silent. She was letting her walls crumble.

"I was at the Companion training house on Sihnon for a year when Walt Havers kidnapped me. He was supposed to be part of my training… called himself … Stone or something…. I don't even remember… All was going according to plan until at some point in the middle of the night, he stuck me with something and the next thing I knew, I woke up in the room you found me in.

"For a while, I believed his lie that he had paid for me until one of his servants accidentally let it slip that I wasn't getting out of there anytime soon. That was when he began hitting me… drugging me… except for when he wanted to use my body. I don't know how long I was there. It must have been years…"

"Do you know what year it was when he…" Mal trailed off not knowing how to finish that question.

"2512… I was 16" He watched a tear trail a well worn path down her alabaster face.

"My God, that was over five years ago."

Karáh looked at him disbelievingly. "He stole… five _years_ of my life?!" She looked around the cargo bay as if something there would right the wrongs done to her. "I-I need to get out of here… I need air. I gotta get out!"

"Karáh, we're in the black. Ain't no air to be had."

" I can't stay here!"

Ma l looked at her for a moment. "Fine. Give me a minute." He walked over to the comm. Panel. "Wash- I'm taking Karáh out for a shuttle ride. Give Serenity a break for a bit until we get back."

"How long you gonna be gone, Cap?"

"Not sure. Send me a wave only in an emergency."

"Got it, Cap."

Mal led Karáh to the unoccupied shuttle and detached it from serenity. He then chose a direction and went for it.

He set the shuttle to auto-pilot and went back to where Karáh was staring blankly at the opposite wall, but breathing normally once again.

"You okay?" he asked.

She gave him a look.

"Stupid question, of course you're not. What I mean is, is this better for you than back on Serenity?"

"… I'm never going to get those years back, am I?

Ma; sighed and put his arm around her. "No, honey. I'm afraid you're not,." That said, he kissed her on the forehead in what he meant to be a reassuring gesture.

She gasped and looked at him with her tear-soaked eyes that like emeralds. Emeralds that any level headed ship captain could get lost in.

"I know," she said turning away.

"What?" Mal asked confused.

"I know I won't get those years back… but I man make up for them. Mal… please… help me make up for them…"

She leaned in close and gently brushed her lips against his.

Shocked, Mal pulled away and looked into her bright green eyes. They were almost silver in this light.

"Karáh?"

"I scream when he kills you."

He looked at her questioningly.

"In my dream…. He finds me and kills everyone on this ship… and he makes me watch as he kills you." She looked at him, tears flowing anew.

"Well, now… that just ain't going to happen. Ain't been killed yet and better men than him have tried." Mal leaned in and placed his lips on her forehead. "I'll be alright, darlin'. It'll be alright." He pulled her close and let her cry freely into his shirt.

For two hours all he did was hold her and rock her slowly, letting her tears leak into his clothing. He didn't hassle her or try to make her talk some more about what was hurting her. He didn't try to kiss her… an urge he had been fighting ever since the first night they had spent together.

Even after she had cried herself out, he continued rocking her; just holding her and not wanting anything in return. A purely unselfish act.

After a while, Karáh shifted. "I'm okay now. We can go back now. I'll be fine."

Mal nodded, disentangled himself from her and stood up. "You wanna learn how to fly a shuttle?" he offered with a smile.

She returned his smile and took his proffered hand as he led her to the cockpit.

He turned off the autopilot and picked up the radio. "Wash, we're coming home. Get the dock ready."

"Got it, Cap."

Mal sat in the seat and gestured for Karáh to sit on his knee. "Alright, this lever here makes the ship go forward. Go ahead, move it forward… but gently," he explained. Karáh did as he instructed. "Now, this steers the craft." Mal took Karáh's hands and placed them on the direction control, covering her hands with his, guiding her actions. "Karáh."

"Hm?"

"You're flying," he told her, earning a brilliant smile from her.

**AN: AND THE CHEESE KEEPS COMING!!! Don't worry. It's going to stop being sucky cheesy soon. I hope… I've already written it. It's just a matter of typing it up!**

**Chapter 4 should be up soon. It'll get up sooner the more reviews I get. Remember people: reviews enthuse.**

**So, just review already dammit!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: HUGE shout out to FOXSHOE for giving me a decent title and … ahem… actually REVIEWINGGGGG… but I digress. **

**Here is Chapter 4 of SANCTUARY!!! (oodles of gratefulness)**

The next morning, Mal and Karáh were eating breakfast when Wash's voice filled the air.

"Mal! You there, Mal? We got trouble!"

Mal jumped up and pressed the button to communicate with Wash with his whole hand. "Define 'trouble'."

"Let's just say we didn't get away from one of our last capers completely free. We're getting a wave. I'll bounce it down to you."

"Karáh, get out of view," Mal told her. He had a sinking feeling she shouldn't be seen.

He turned to the cortex.

"With whom am I speaking?" came a poncy accent.

"What's your business?" Mal wasn't going to give any information away unless he absolutely had to.

Out of the corner of his eye, Karáh was shaking, her eyes wide with fear.

"I am Sir Walt Havers and I've tracked some of my property to this ship."

Now Mal understood Karáh's fear. "Property? I don't recall having any property but our own."

"A girl, Captain. Amongst other things, however, I doubt I'll find any of that on your ship."

"I don't know anything about any cargo, but we got a few girls on board my ship. What does she look like? Might be able to help you."

Karáh was shocked at how cool mal was being, little did she know, on the inside he was in complete turmoil. Mal was worried sick that this man would get his grubby hands on Karáh again. That girl had made him feel something he couldn't even name.

"I have security camera, Captain. I know you have her. I saw you take her with you. Now, I thank you for saving her from the people who destroyed my-"

"Reavers. Thery're called Reavers."

"Yes, them. Now, you have my investment and I want her back."

Mal tensed. "Investment?" If he ever met this man in person, he was going to blow his gorram head off.

"My wife can't give me an heir. I've put too much time in that little whore to-"

Mal cut Havers off by closing the connection with him. He realized that was probably not the best idea. He might as well have just admitted to having Haver's _investment_ next to him every night.

Over the course of the brief wave, Karáh had grown increasingly paler.

"Karáh, darlin' it's ok. I won't let him get to you. That puny piece of go se ain't never lay his eyes on you again. I promise." He looked deep in her eyes promising with more than just words.

A voice came from behind them. "You shouldn't have done that. He'll come for her."

"Inara- what?"

"I heard about what he did, I just never put it together until now." Inara walked over to the shaking girl and hugged her. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"Inara, what in the hell are you talking about?" Mal asked pulling Karáh back into his embrace, no longer caring who saw it.

"A little over five years ago, an emergency bulletin was sent out to all Companions blacklisting that man, he used a different name then… Stone I think it was… but I recognized him from the picture..."

"He's coming for her," River said standing in the open doorway.

Mal stood up. "What do you see?"

River gave him a look. "He's coming for her," she repeated and pointed at Karáh. "He wants her back and now he's on his way to play hide and seek… hide and seek…" River looked back at Mal. "the captain can't let him get her… it would break Serenity.'

Mal hit the comm. Link. "Wash we're moving and we can't be followed. Use everything we got."

He went back to Karáh.

"It won't be enough," Karáh and River said at the same time.

"He put something in her."

Mal and Inara looked at River.

"Inara get the doc; tell him we need a scan. He put it in her; we're going to take it out." Inara and River ran out of the kitchen, hurrying to do as he said.

"Karáh… Karáh look at me. I need you to look at me." Mal waited for her eyes to meet his own. "You'll be okay," he insisted. "You'll be okay."

Karáh took a shuddering breath and looked to the ceiling. "At what cost? Your life? The lives of your crew?" She stood up and began pacing. "It's not worth it."

Mal stood up pissed off. "The hell it ain't!" He walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders stilling her frantic movements. "Now you listen here, for some gorram reason you're in me… a part of me that I can't rightly describe and it scares me straight to hell. But what scares me even more is the thought of something terrible happening to you."

"Mal! You don't understand! This man is _relentless_ he won't stop at anything until he gets what he thinks is his! He'll k-kill you, Mal!" She wrenched free from his grasp and began pacing again. "You say you don't want something terrible to happen to me, but he'll get to me after he kills you." She stopped and her face paled, as if she had jusst felt the weight of her words. "Oh God, if he killed you… I couldn't live with myself," the second part was barely audible. She sat down in a chair slowly and stared at a spot on the floor near her right foot.

"Oh darlin'." Mal crouched in front of her and brought her into his arms, effectively pulling her out of her chair and onto his lap on the floor. "Oh, darlin', he repeated and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Don't think like that."

She pressed her face into his neck. All she had known for the past five years was a numb helplessness; now, she had had a taste of something else and fate was threatening to take it away again.

"He won't stop-"

"And neither will I. So don't start frettin' just yet." Mall stood up and pulled her to her feet. "Now, how's about we get the good doctor to look at you… see if we can't confuse that go se some more?"

Karáh sniffed and nodded. "Okay… just…"

"What?"

"I just want to…" Karáh lifted up on her toes and gently brushed her lips against his. She wanted to feel. Feel what it was like to be loved instead of abused. Havers had felt that using his fist instead of kind words was the way to gain her compliance.

With a groan, Mal wrapped his around her and pulled her close.

Karáh allowed herself to sink into his embrace, forgetting the fears and worries that had plagued her since he woke up in a shower looking into Mal's blue eyes. She wound her arms around his neck and thread her fingers in his hair, deepening the embrace.

With her training, she had some knowledge in the ways of kissing, however as soon as she felt his lips on hers, all was forgotten and instinct kicked in. She parted her lips, inviting his tongue to tentatively taste her.

Their passion became increasingly more heated when they were suddenly interrupted.

"Cap'n, Simon sent me to—Oh!"

Kaylee walked in and startled Karáh and Mal from their desperate embrace.

"Cap'n, I uh—"

"Yes, Kaylee, what?" Mal asked, not letting go of Karáh.

"Simonisreadyforherbye!" Kaylee blurted and darted out of the room obviously unsure of what to think.

"Well, I do believe we have found a way to keep that girl quiet," Mal joked. He then brushed his lips against her hair. With a sigh he said, "Alright, best not keep the doc waiting."

Together they walked to the infirmary.

**AN: Alright! Hope you all enjoyed chapter 4. It got a bit more angsty… and there's plenty more angst to come. **

**Chapter 5 should be up sooner rather than later.**

**Hasta pasta and as usual: REVIEW!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Here it is!!! Chapter… what is it now? 5?? Here is THIS CHAPTER!!! *insert trumpet fanfare here***

**Disclaimer: Joss is boss… unfortunately not mine, that would be so awesome.**

Karáh sat on the cool table in the infirmary as Dr. Simon Tam circled her, snapping on his gloves.

"Do we know what we're looking for?"

"Something that can be tracked easily. Something with a signal," Mal answered after a pause.

Karáh still had yet to speak to anyone but him and it concerned him a bit, but at the moment, he had to worry about Havers getting his hands on her again. He couldn't ;et that happen. It would kill him.

"Do we know where I should start looking?"

Karáh look at Mal and then River before gesturing to her lower back.

"I think there's a scar," she said speaking to someone other than Mal for the first time since she had come on the ship over a week ago.

"Put it there when she wasn't looking… buried it deep. Bad place to go grave digging…" River spoke up as Simon scanned the area Karáh had indicated.

"What do you me- oh." Simon looked at the scan with a furrowed brow.

"What 'Oh'? what do you mean, doc?" Mal asked concerned with the look on Simon's face.

"It's too deep. The risked paralysis or even death just by putting it there. I'm sorry, Captain, I can't get it out… especially not while we're flying."

Karáh made a concerned noise and looked at Mall with big doe eyes.

"Ir's goin' to be alright. We'll figure something out."

"He's here," River said.

"Sir, we got three ships at our back and coming in fast," Zoe's voice came from the speaker on the wall.

Mal looked at Karáh. She looked worried sick.

"It's coming true," she said "My nightmare is real."

"The hell it is," Mal swore. "Zoe, tell your husband to get away from them now! They're here for Karáh." He went over to Karáh and took her hand in his as he led her away from the infirmary to a more secluded place. "Listen up, your dream ain't coming true, darlin'. I plan to live a long life and I want you to be with me. Okay? Now, don't you worry. You got something that sack of horse piss ain't got," Ma; told her.

Karáh looked at him through tear soaked eyes. "What?"

"You got me. And he ain't seen me coming. An' I'm going to keep you safe because you mean more to me than anything."

Karáh stood up and backed away. "Don't!"

"Don' what? Love you? I can't help it. I've tried, Lord knows I've tried. It don't work."

Karáh covered her ears. "Don't say things like that!"

Mal stood up and pulled her hands away from her head. "Wht not? Why can't I say I love you? Why is that?!"

Karáh stopped and stared at him as if the answer was obvious. "Because it makes everything so much harder."

"How?"

"If you didn't, I could handle being kept as Havers… whatever… but now… I'd die if anyone else touched me."

Mal grabbed her by the shoulders. "How many times do I have to tell you not to think like that? God, Karáh…" Mal pulled her close and crushed his lips to hers. "I'll never let you go!" he swore before returning to the solace her lips promised.

Just as their embrace became heated, they were interrupted by the sound of elephants dancing down the stairs which actually turned out to be Jayne's boots and the mercenary bellowing "Mal!"

"Damn it all to hell," Mal groaned as he detangled himself from Karáh.

Karáh was breathless and lightheaded from Mal's kiss and her knees nearly buckled underneath her.

Mal caught her just as Jayne walked in.

"Jesus, Mal! We got unfriendlies barreling up our ass and you're making out with the prize? She don't even talk!"

"She talks plenty. And what do you mean 'barrelling up our asses?'"

"I mean they're here, mal, and they mean business.

"What are we dealing with? Same ships as before?" Yeah… and they brought friends… with toys."

"Son of a whore!" Mal swore.

At this news, Karáh's knees really did fall out from under her.

"Karáh! I need you to hide. Go with Jayne and whatever you do stay hid and stay quiet! You hear me?~!" Mal grabbed her shoulders. "Promise me!"

The look he gave her was so intense, it chilled her to her core.

"Say it!"

"I-I promise! Just, please, don't do anything to get yourself killed. Please!"

"Okay, just go. There's an ass seems need my foot put up it." With that, Mal pulled her in and crushed a quick, but powerful kiss to her lips. "Stay quiet! Stay safe," he repeated as he ran off to the bridge.

"Mal!" Karáh cried as she ran after him.

"Karáh I need you to go with Jayne."

"I know… It's just… I-I have t-trouble trusting p-people… and I-" she sent a glance over her shoulder at Jayne.

"Do you trust me?"

Karáh looked into his eyes. "Yes."

"Then you can trust that if anything happens to you while you're with Jayne, I will personally cause him a great deal of discomfort. Now go!" He pushed her towards Jayne. "I'll handle Havers, but I can only do that if I know you're safe." Mal looked to Jayne. "Jayne! Make my girl invisible." With that , Mal ran toward the bridge.

"Don't worry, girl,, you won't be far from him." Jayne reached into one of the million pouches on his belt and pulled out a ratchet. "Yer goin' belowdecks."

Jayne walked over to the air vent grating and used to ratchet to open it. "C'mon. Get up here, girl"

Karáh stood where she was nervously for a second before going to join Jayne who gave her a boost up to her hiding spot.

Then, with a mightly effort, Jayne hauled himself up to join her in the metal shaft. He then leaned out and pulled the grating back into place.

"Whatcha waiting for? Crawl." Jayne gestured in the direction he wanted her to move.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Up on the bridge, Mal was looking once again at the man who had inspired so many nightmares in Karáh.

"You can board us, but I don't think you'll be finding anything of yours. We dropped the girl on a moon a few days back," Mal told Havers. "We'll land on Santo in an hour and you can come aboard then." Mal cut the connection on the cortex and turned to Wash. "I need you to set us down on that moon and then take off with the rest of the crew in the shuttles. I don't want Havers to have any chance to try anything with my people."

"You sure? Splitting up might not be a smart plan, sir. Havers could come after us the shuttles thinking that we stashed the girl on one of them," his first mate pointed out.

"He won't. He knows she's staying on this ship. When we're clear I'll call you back. Jayne is staying here with me. He's with Karáh now. I need to know my crew is safe."

"Captain-"

"He will use you to get to me and me to get to her. I can't let that happen."

Zoe paused for a moment and thought it over. "Alright. But we're doing this the smart way."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Thirty minutes later, Wash had landed Serenity on Santo and the entire crew with the exception of Mal and Jayne were on the two shuttles.

Now, all Mal had to do was wait. He was expecting Havers to come aboard within the next five minutes. Not liking the silence, Mal spoke.

"Karáh, I know you can hear me. Not sure where you are… I just wanted to say… you did something to me… changed me. I think you made me a better person… and I wanted to thank you for that. I don't know how you did it, and Jayne is probably laughing at me right now for saying this, but I've fallen. And I've fallen hard. For you."

In the air shaft, Jayne snickered quietly at Mal's confession. "Idiot. Ain't no woman worth this fuss…" he muttered to himself.

Behind him, Karáh wept with silent tears.

"I love you," came Mal's voice floating down the aluminum shaft, echoing… in the shaft and in her heart.

"Gorramit, he's fucking up," Jayne muttered. He turned around to look at the crying girl. "Oh, I didn't mean…"

"He loves me," she said simply through her tears.

"Did you hear me? I _lo_-"

Mal's declaration was cut-off by a loud banging on Serenity's cargo bay doors.

With a sigh, Mal went to open the door. "Showtime."

**AN: MUAHAHA CLIFFHANGER!!! And here comes my threat: I want to see some reviews. Until I do, I'll keep my verrrry juicy next chapter all to my lonesome. So review or no dice!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey all! So my threat to not update was obviously not that strong. It took two. Mad props to FOXSHOE and RIONAEIRE for calling my bluff and actually reviewing. So this is chapter is dedicated to them.**

**Another little thing I've noticed that no one else has noticed… I haven't written Book in this story at all and no one has mentioned it. It's not that I don't like Book… I just find his character kinda hard to write for in a scenario like this. I might bring him in later, but for now, we'll pretend that he is already on Haven off of Serenity.**

**Little note: Remember in Serenity how Mal went through the air shaft to get to River when she locked herself on the bridge… that's where I'm imagining Karáh and Jayne are hiding.**

**Disclaimer: They ain't mine. I can't do the awesomeness that Joss does. Totally wish I had his gift.**

Karáh held her breath as Mal moved to open the door to Serenity, her heart pounding in her chest.

Mal took a fortifying breath and slapped the button to open the hatch with his whole palm. Karáh listened as the doors hissed open.

Mal stood back and watched as the stranger he hated to fervently invade the space he considered a sanctuary.

He was surprised to find that Havers was not that tall; and while the man was by no means obese, he had a girth to him. To him, Havers was not an intimidating man, but he could see how he could strike fear in Karáh's heart.

Havers sniffed and gazed at his surroundings. "Where is she, Captain?"

"Who? I have a fair number of 'she's on my ship. You're going to have to be a bit more specific about which one you mean." Mal struggled against the urge to tear the man's throat out.

"You know which one I mean. I mean the girl you … ahem… rescued… from the… what did you call them again? Reavers, was it?"

Mal feigned confusion. "Oh her? We left her on a moon a ways back. Didn't I mention that to you?"

Havers smirked as if he knew a secret.

"Would you like to know why I haven't shot your shuttles out of the sky, yet, Captain? Because I _know_ the little bitch is here." Havers paused. "Crawley, find her."

One of the several men who had followed Havers in pulled out a device. He looked at it for a moment before heading off in the general direction of the bridge.

In a less than intelligent sounding voice, the man Havers called "Crawley" called out, "Over here, sir. The signal's comin' from up this way."

"Come, Captain. I have a feeling you'll be most helpful in finding my girl."

"What makes you think I'm going anywhere with you, you stupid piece of fei-oo?!"

"Such a strong sentiment from someone claiming not to know where she is," Havers pointed out. He cocked his own gun and aimed it at Mal's head. "Why do I have this feeling that threatening you life will have absolutely no effect on you?" He shifted his arm so that the gun was aimed at Mal's stomach. "Of course… I also seem to enjoy it terribly… So, Captain, tell me where she is before my man finds her, and you'll get to keep your health."

The sound of Havers threat floated up the air vent to where Karáh and Jayne were hiding.

Jayne stiffened beside her when he heard it. "That gorram bastard, doesn't know the captain very well does he?"

"J-Jayne, sir… we can't let him h-hurt M-Mal! He loves me!" Without waiting, for a response, Karáh crawled around Jayne and back in the direction they had come from.

"Gorrammit girl! Get back here!"

Karáh, however, was surprisingly fast in tight places.

"He loves me!" she repeated as she crawled farther and farther away.

Karáh had managed to make it back to the grating without making a sound and watched the events unfold before her.

Havers still had the gun pointed at Mal.

"I ain't sayin' a word."

"Captain, I do believe you just tried to call my bluff. Stupid thing if you ask me." Havers tightened his index finger around the trigger, shooting Mal; the bullet ripping through his stomach.

Karáh jumped, banging her head against the metal of the air shaft as she realized that her dream was starting to come true.

The resulting sound caused Havers, Crawley, and the armed gunmen keeping Mal in his place on the floor to look in that direction. Mal refused to look deciding that bringing even more attention to his feelings for her would only incite the malicious lord.

"Oh… go se…" Karáh turned as fast as possible in her confined space and crawled headfirst into Jayne who had followed her at a much slower pace.

"Run!" she told him.

Just as they were headed in the right direction, the sound of the grate being removed from its place caused them to panic.

"Sir! I've got her!" came Crawley's painfully loud bellow. He grabbed her by her exposed ankle and dragged her out of her hiding spot none too gently. She fell out of the air vent, twisting her ankle in the process, causing her to cry out. "Get up," Crawley said as he pulled her up roughly by her right arm. He got her reasonably steady enough and twisted her captive arm behind her back, nearly wrenching it out of its socket.

"Bring her here," Havers ordered.

Crawley put more pressure on her arm, effectively dislocating it, causing her to scream in pain once more.

"Don't toy with her, Crawley, Just bring her here," Havers said with a sick smile curving his lips.

Crawley pushed Karáh towards the steps. "Move."

She slowly limped her way in the direction of certain pain, agony, torture, and all sorts of unhappiness. Mal couldn't take it anymore. He had to look at her, to see if she would be alright, or if she was about ready to fall apart at the seams.

When she reached the stairs, Crawley decided she was going too slow for his taste, and he gave her an extra shove while releasing her injured arm.

Unsteady as she was, the extra force sent Karáh toppling headfirst down the stairs. Miraculously, she didn't break her neck, but lie at the bottom hugging her right arm to her body.

Mal watched all of this, unable to do anything about it beyond protesting, and he had a feeling that drawing attention to his feelings for her would only cause Karáh more trouble.

From his somewhat hidden perch, Jayne took aim at Havers and Crawley, but couldn't find a shot that couldn't possibly hit Mal or Karáh.

Karáh finally and painfully made her way to Havers, her eyes fully glued to the ground.

He looked at her in a sickly possessive way. "There you are, my dear. We were worried about you at home."

"I-I-I'm sorry I c-c-c-caused you t-to wo-worry," Karáh said, fear strong in her voice.

Havers backhanded her upside the head. "Caused me to worry _what_?"

"S-SIR! I'm s-sorry I c-caused you to wo-worry, _sir_."

"Better. Is there anything you would like to say to the captain?"

Mal looked up at her, hoping to catch her eye, to see if what he could do or something.

She kept her eyes to the ground.

"Th-thank you for sa-saving me…" she said. Havers nudged her painfully. "Fr-from the Re-Reavers… Ma- Captain," she qualified. Tears fell steadily from her eyes. She knew what was in store for her; she knew there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

"Let's go." Havers put his hand in the small of Karáh's back and propelled her forcefully forward. "I wouldn't suggest coming after us, Captain. It will only make things worse for everyone."

With that, Havers, Crawley, and the rest of Havers' small army, made their way off of Serenity.

They were on board for no more than five minutes.

**AN: OHS NOES!!! WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN?!?! Muahahaha! I can't let everything be so easy for them! I want this story to go on at least a bit longer. Anyhoodles! I expect oodles and doodles of reviews before I post the next chapter. It actually might take a while because with this chapter ends the material that I already had written up, but fear not! I have more in my noggin. So! Review and see what happens next!!**

**Oh, and b.… **_**The rating is moving up to M, so be ware for next time.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Howdy doody! So, I'm house sitting which involves taking care of a dog that needs to pee at the earliest possible time, so I haven't been getting much sleep. I'm trying to make this chapter as good as possible, so hence why it took so long… **

**Also: I'm watching Independence Day, so if you notice a lot of Jayne in here, that's why. I do believe Adam Baldwin looks sexy with a gun. ******

**This is dedicated once again to RIONAEIRE who is awesome and gives some of the best ego-boosting reviews EVER!!! *cough***

**Disclaimer: Joss rocks my socks (and is surprisingly on twitter), but he won't let me have them.**

**WARNING!!!!! Graphic badness is probably going to happen in this chapter, so if you have delicate sensibilities, please skip on to the next chapter after I post it. I'll warn you with a ++++++ across the page right before things get bad. K thanks!**

"Mal!" Jayne jumped from his hiding place in the air shaft and ran to his injured captain. "I didn't have a shot, there was no space to get a good angle in there."

Mal eyed Vera, his merc's favorite and not to mention, largest gun. "What happened? Why weren't you where we agreed?"

Jayne helped him up. "She bolted when he threatened you… gotta tell ya Cap, ya shouldn't'a given that phony speech. Got her feminine sensitivities all in a bunch."

"It wasn't phony, Jayne. I meant every word," Mal said. He heard the shuttles dock back on Serenity.

Jayne sighed. "We're goin' after her, ain't we?"

"Yeah, let's go," Mal started towards the stairs, but was too injured to make it very far on his own.

"Captain? What happened?" Kaylee asked the moment she saw him. "Simon!"

"He brought me flowers… then shot me. And took her…" Mal said, his voice cracking as it finally hit home that Karáh was once again with the man who had caused her so many nightmares. "God, what is he doing to her?" he whispered to himself.

Simon ran down the stairs to assist getting Mal to the infirmary. "Captain, I have to look at this. We can go after her when I'm done."

Mal shook his head vehemently. "No. He'll hurt her again. He may even kill her. We have to get to her." He looked to his first mate. "Zoe?"

She nodded understanding him without him actually asking anything of her. "I'll tell my man." She turned towards the bridge. "Uh, sir?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we headed?"

Mal paused, breathing heavily. "Did you see which way they headed when they left?"

"Yes, sir, we did."

"That way." Mal sighed. "Okay, doc. Fix me up." He raised his hand to put pressure on his wound.

Mal rarely showed his emotions. He was known for it. So, instead of being sad that Karáh had been taken from him by a psychopath, he decided to get mad and get her back.

He had a feeling that there was something important he knew, but he couldn't remember. Blood seeped from in between his fingers. He stumbled, the blood loss finally affecting him.

Jayne and Simon caught him as he went towards the floor.

"We need to get him to the infirmary. Now!" Simon told Jayne. Together, they carried their barely conscious captain to the infirmary.

Something sparked in Mal's brain, but before he could mumble a coherent syllable, his world went dark.

"I've missed you, Karáh. I've been so lonely without you."

Karáh tried to repress her shudder at the oily smooth voice of Havers. Her ribs hurt, her arm was still dislocated, her ankle was probably sprained, she was cut and bruised and all other sorts of battered. Yet, she still had a feeling that this was nothing compared to what she was going to experience in the near future. She had left. She had disobeyed him. She knew he was going to make her pay for that.

"Did you enjoy your freedom? Did you enjoy being the captain's little _whore_?" Havers walked up to her and backhanded her across the face, causing her head to whip to the right. "Did he screw you? Did you like it?" With each new accusation, came another blow. "From now on, when I touch you, will you be thinking of him?" He hit her hard enough to knock her to the ground. He smirked. "Sometimes I wonder if you're even worth my time."

The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was his booted foot heading towards her face.

"Will he be okay, Simon?" Inara asked as the doctor worked on her friend. She had once had a thing for Mal, but she now saw how much Karáh meant to him.

_He watched as she tumbled down the stairs. Something wasn't right as she hit the second to last step. He heard a second thunk that sounded more like a clatter… as if something had hit the ground right underneath the step she just hit._

"Under… stairs…" he mumbled softly, his eyes opening as he said the words. He sat up quickly, pulling the stitches the doctor had put in a few hours before. "Under the stairs! She dropped something under the stairs!" He hurried to get up¸ only to be forced down by Jayne, Simon, and a nasty case of vertigo.

"I'll look, Cap'n," Kaylee offered and then hurried to investigate.

"Thump thump clatter clunk! As she stumbled, she made it tumble," River said cryptically.

Mal knew exactly what she meant. "Wh-when he pushed her down the stairs. I think she grabbed something and dropped it under the stairs…"

"I found something!" Kaylee called as she ran back to the infirmary. "It looks like some sort of…"

"Tracking device?" Mal finished.

She looked at him curiously. "Yeah… Cap'n, how did you know?"

"Just… remembered…" he said, not really knowing the answer himself. "Take it to Wash. Tell him to follow the signal. Warn me when we get close." Kaylee went to do as he said.

"What is this tracking?"

"The girl. It's tracking the girl, ain't it?" Jayne asked. He had seen the way Crawley had treated Karáh. He had seen the tracker. What he couldn't wrap around his head was how the girl had gotten hold of the tracker.

Mal nodded. "I think I heard her drop it when he pushed her down the stairs." He paused. "God, she wasn't in good shape when she left. How long has she been with that rudding piece of go se?"

Simon sighed. "Since before we got back a few hours ago."

Mal sat up ignoring the dizziness and his protesting crew. "No! She's been gone and in worse shape than me for a few hours. And he can only get worse! I can't be sitting here! I have to do something…. I'll be on the bridge." He got up off of the table that Karáh had been sitting on not 12 hours before.

He made it to the door before having to stop and lean against something for support.

Simon rolled his eyes and gestured for Jayne to follow him. "If you won't let me work on you hear, at least let me make sure you make it to the bridge." Together they helped their captain to Wash.

Karáh woke up, her body screaming in pain and her sensibilities fuzzy. At first she didn't remember where she was or what she had gone through. All she remembered was the pain.

Why had she woken up? She cracked her eyes open.

A homely woman with graying hair and weathered eyes was dabbing gently at a cut on her head.

"Wha? Who…?"

"Shh, dear, don't try to speak." The woman sighed. "He didn't hold back. The bastard," she said to herself. "My name is Lilly Havers. I'm here to help you, Karáh."

Lilly worked on Karáh for over an hour, tending to the results of the brutal beating her husband had given this innocent girl.

Karáh coughed violently. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Karáh, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"I do… Your husband… and I…" Karáh could barely speak through the physical and emotional pain.

"Hush. You have nothing to be sorry for. I promise. It's my --and I use this term loosely—husband. He did this to us. But, not for much longer. I'm getting you out of here. I can't allow my husband to rape you over and over again because I can't give him an heir."

Just then, the door banged open and Havers burst through. "Get away from the whore, Lilly," he demanded and then backhanded his wife, knocking her to the ground. "You are _never_ to come in here ever again! Do you understand me?" He watched as his wife huddled in a corner, clearly scared out of her wits. "Dumb bitch," he muttered. "Get out."

"Walt, what are you—"

"GET OUT!" he shouted at her.

**This next part is graphic, if you can't handle it or whatever, please move skip to the next part.**

Havers slammed the door behind his wife and quickly undressed himself. "You've been gone for so long. I've _missed_ you." He tore at her borrowed clothing, ripping them from her body until she lay there prone and naked. "You shouldn't have left, whore," he said as he descended upon her.

Karáh felt him rub up against her, causing him her harden. She closed her eyes, a stray tear sneaking a trail down the side of her face. If she tried hard enough she could leave. She had been doing it for years, but that was then, when all she knew was pain. Now, she had known love. Now, she wanted to feel Mal's heated embrace up against her own, not this monster who used and abused her. Not the man who had possibly even killed Mal.

So she did the one thing she hadn't done since the first few months he had held her prisoner.

She fought against his invasion of her body. She feebly kicked and screamed and writhed against him, hoping to cause him some sort of pain. Anything to get him off of her.

"You stupid whore! After everything I've done for you, you fight me _now_? You should feel lucky that I even chose you out of all your stupid whore friends!" Once again, he resorted to hitting her. Beating her just enough so she could still whimper as he hurt her even more. He wanted her awake when he violated her.

She felt him push into her, forcing her legs apart with a vice like grip on her thighs. He beat into her until finally, miraculously, he finished.

Afterwards, he lay on top of her, suffocating her with his weight.

"Whore," he whispered as he got off of her.

He dressed, leaving her a huddled bleeding heap on the floor in the middle of the room that had seen so many horrible things.

He got his boot on and with one last disdainful look at her. He lifted his foot and kicked her, whipping her head in the opposite direction, a signature move of his.

**The delicate readers can now continue reading. It's okay now.**

"Where is she? How long will it take us to get there? Why ain't we there yet?" Mal rattled off his questions.

"Sir, we are doing the best we can. We are going at full burn, but I don't know how much longer Serenity can take this speed."

"Well, make it!" Mal demanded. He was pacing the entire length of the bridge. Simon and Jayne had given up trying to keep him in one place. They watched from their respective seats on the bridge, their eyes following him back and forth with each lap. "We need to get to her." He stopped his constant movement and put his weight on the back of a vacant seat. "_I_ need to get to her," he said to himself.

"Mal! We got a visual!" Wash exclaimed.

"Let me see."

The pilot put the image up on the monitor.

Mal consulted the tracking signal and then looked back at the screen. "He took her back. Why would he do that?" He let his confusion go. "Go. Get us there. Sneaky if possible." He pushed himself up. "Jayne. Get whatever gear you can carry. If you got some to share, do it. We're getting Karáh back even if we die trying."

Jayne got up and went to do as Mal said. "I don't want to die."

"Then don't, but get your gear."

**AN: OK! I realize it got dark and well… violent… but hey! Things are looking up! Mal is going to get her soon… hopefully! Haha I can't say what's going to happen!**

**Anyways, please review. Constructive criticism is preferred, but abundant flattery is also accepted! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: A THOUSAND thanks to RIONAEIRE for reviewing with pretty much the general plot points of this chapter. So, I send out a writers credit to her for rocking my world with every review and PM. To the rest of you all. FORSHAME!!! (in an epic sort of way.)**

**RANDOM FACT ABOUT THE AUTHOR: My right middle toe has been twitching for a week and driving me crazy. Has this happened to any of you? If so, how do I make it stop?**

**Disclaimer: The characters, like my desktop background, belong to Joss. (except Karáh and other nonrecognizeables.)**

Mal gathered those of the crew that were going on the desperate rescue mission. He looked around at them. "This is the plan. Inara, you come with me. We're going in the front door and there will be guards need flirtin' with."

Inara didn't bother protesting. She understood what Karáh meant to Mal. She realized that he would do anything for the girl and would risk all he had. There used to be a time when her flirtation with other men would bother the captain, but ever since this new girl had come into his life, he had become much less jealous of her and more protective of Karáh.

"Jayne, Zoe, you enter the back way. Stay as quiet as possible for as long as possible. If anyone hears a blast, open fire. Now, you two are going to be clearing a path for me once I get her."

Everyone said they understood the plan and made their way the shuttles that would take them to their respective targets.

"This ain't just any girl, people. I think you all know that by now. There's going to be blood. Try not to make it any of ours."

Mal and Inara climbed into shuttle 2 and detached from Serenity. Inara navigated the short distance between their hidden home and Karáh's prison.

She looked over at him. "It's going to be alright, Mal. We'll get her back."

He looked at her with saddened eyes. "I know. But will we be in time?"

"Do you think he would kill her?"

"No, not kill her. He referred to her as property. He ain't going to throw away a five year …_investment_."

Inara mulled over what he had just said. She had met her share of men who thought they could take what they wanted without regard to anyone else and Havers has seemed the worst. She could only imagine what Karáh was going through.

"She's a strong girl. Whatever happened, you can help her through it," Inara assured him as she deftly set the shuttle down behind a set of trees in front of Havers' estate.

"You know the plan?" Mal asked one last time.

"Yes, Mal. Flirt and distract. Two things I'm very good at, according to you."

"Let's go then."

He waited while she sauntered confidently to the first set of guards. Once he was sure they were properly distracted, he abandoned the shuttle and stealthily made his way to the group. There were three guards. Inara was successfully holding their undivided attention enough for Mal to sneak up directly behind them and take out two of them while Inara pulled out her hidden tranquilizer gun and shot the third in the neck. They quickly disarmed the men and Mal shouldered the weapons.

Mal motioned for her to go ahead of him and repeat the process with the guards watching over the front doors of the house. Past those two incompetents, there weren't any other obstacles that he couldn't handle on his own and Inara understood that once this portion of the plan was seen through, she was to go to the shuttle and head back to Serenity. He would hitch a ride back with Jayne and Zoe once he got Karáh out of there safe and sound.

As soon as they dealt with the guards at the front door, Inara silently snuck away. Mal knew she would be fine. Anything she couldn't talk or flirt her way out of, she could fight her way out of. He knew she could handle herself.

He opened the front door slowly, in case there was a creak, and immediately ran into a woman with graying hair and tired eyes. He assumed she was a maid.

He covered her mouth with his hand before she got a sound out and pulled his mouth to her ear. "Be quiet, ma'am. We aren't here to hurt you. In fact, if anyone asks, you never saw us. D'you understand me?"

She looked up at him. "You're here for her, aren't you?" she whispered.

He nodded.

"Good."

"Who are you, ma'am?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"I am Lilly Havers… Could I catch a ride with your friend?" she asked him, need in her voice.

He contemplated her. The wife of the man who had taken everything away from him. She was scared of Havers. "Go. Quickly. Quietly. Tell her I said it was alright."

She touched a soft hand to his face in thanks. "The door is locked. I swiped the key from my husband. But go quickly. He'll be waking soon," she warned before swiftly following in Inara's footsteps.

Mal retraced the steps he had made merely days before and made his way to Karáh's tomb.

Without hesitation, he inserted the key and turned the lock. He opened the door.

The sight that greeted him was one of his worst fears. Karáh was bruised, battered, naked, and lying in a bloody heap on the cold concrete floor. Mal saw a flash of red before his eyes that had nothing to do with the blood covering the woman he loved.

Attached to one of her legs was a wrought iron chain which was in turn attached to the wall.

"Karáh? Sweetie? Wake up. Please. I need you to wake up, now," Mal whispered softly to her as he bent towards her ear. He stroked her hair, trying to wake her up.

She moaned softly, a stray tear escaped the corner of her eye and made a clean path through the battle field of blood that marred her face. "God, what did he do to you?" Mal whispered.

Karáh shifted and opened one blackened and bloody eye. "Mal?" she asked softly, not really believing what she was seeing.

"Yeah, darlin', I'm right here. We're going to get you out of here, don't you fret."

"You're not real. You can't be… I- I saw you die!" she cried softly and painfully rolled over onto her side, her back to him.

"Karáh I ain't dead." He touched her hand softly to reassure her. "Could I do this if I were?"

She rolled over to face him once more. "Oh, my God! You're alive!" She moved to throw her arms around her only to cry out in pain from her still dislocated shoulder.

"Shh, darlin' don't try to move too much. First I gotta get you out of this chain." He contemplated the different ways to get the chain off all the while keeping an eye and ear out for movement from the other side of the door.

"Karáh, watch the door. You hear or see anything you tell me."

He took out his knife. "Mal? What are you-?" Karáh wondered nervously. Sure, she wanted the chain off, but she also wanted to keep her foot.

"Door."

Mal lowered the blade to the exposed screw and began to work on working it out of its hole. Once that was completed, he worked on the last screw holding the chain to Karáh's delicate white ankle.

"We're almost done," he told her.

Just before the screw was free, Mal heard it. Havers was headed towards the room. Mal struggled to get the screw from the iron cuff, accidently cutting Karáh's fragile skin in the process.

She didn't make a sound. She simply stared in horror as the door knob began to turn.

**AN: WOOT!!! WRITTEN IN ONLY A FEW HOURS!!! And with a twitchy toe, too! I feel very proud of myself.**

**If you feel proud of me as well, REVIEW!!! That'd be great. Kthanx.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: No one really wants to read this after that cliffhanger, do they? I feel I should warn you all: This is a fight scene chapter and I kinda suck at them. **

**Again: Thanks to RIONAEIRE for helping me with some of the details of the fight. I hit a road block and could not write for the life of me. **

**Disclaimer: come up with something snarky about Joss owning them.**

The barrel of a gun entered the slowly entered the room first. Mal quickly took off his brown duster and draped it over Karáh. Up until then, he had been aware that she was unclothed, but before now he was too concerned with removing the iron vice around her leg and her wounds.

After covering her up, Mal stood to the side of the door and pulled out his weapon.

A voice slipped through the door, slippery as a fish through water. "You shouldn't have covered her, Captain. I know you're in there."

Mal sighed and lowered his weapon. He was made. But he was not ready to give up.

He slammed all of his weight into the door, trapping and possibly breaking Havers' wrist. Havers dropped the gun and fell back when Mal swung the door open.

Mal followed the man to the floor, raining blows down on him.

"I would stop if I were you, Captain!" Havers shouted through broken teeth.

Mal delivered one final punch. "Why's that? It's fun for me. You tellin' me you ain't having fun?"

"I can kill her with a push of this button." Havers opened his left fist to reveal what looked like a pen with some buttons on it. "It's connected to the chip located in her back. One press and it severs her spinal cord." Havers slowly moved his thumb over one of the buttons. "You will be wanting to get off of me now and hand over your weapons," Havers threatened.

Mal did as he said reluctantly, all the while keeping an eye on Havers' left hand.

Havers made a fist out of his right hand and let it fly. It connected with Mal's earlier gunshot wound. The pain from that knocked the breath out of him, causing him to fall to his knees.

His stitches were torn, he knew it. He could feel the blood seeping through his fingers as he desperately tried to staunch the flow

Havers had Mal at a disadvantage. He couldn't see a way out barring a miracle.

Havers took the butt of his gun and pistol whipped Mal across the face with impressive force, sending him sprawling across the floor. When he looked back up, he saw how dire his situation was. Havers had him at a definite disadvantage. Mal was disarmed and Havers was cocking Mal's favorite gun and aiming at his head. He couldn't see a way out, barring a miracle.

A shot rang out.

Mal had squeezed his eyes shut at the sound, but found himself alive enough to open them.

Havers looked down at himself, surprised to see a red oblong circle begin to spread above his heart.

Mal watched as he dropped to his knees and struggled with death before finally keeling over.

The smoke cleared to reveal Karáh cloaked in Mal's duster and panting heavily. Whether it was out of relief, effort, or extreme pain, he couldn't tell. All he cared was that she was alright and the man who had tortured her was dead.

"Mal?" she breathed and dropped the gun Havers had dropped earlier.

Mal shot to his feet and ran to her just as her knees buckled under her weight. He caught her in his arms and carefully lowered them to the floor.

She grasped at him with her right hand; her dislocated left arm lay hanging uselessly at an odd angle.

"H-he dropped the gun… I didn't know what to do…" she allowed her gaze to drift to Havers' lifeless body. "Is he…?"

"He isn't going to hurt you anymore, darlin'. You're safe now," Mal said before burying his face into her neck. His emotions ran rampant inside of him. He had always been proud of being able to not let them control him, but he felt such an overwhelming wave of relief and gratitude that she was alright, he couldn't bear to keep it in.

In the distance, Mal could hear shots ring out and his crewmembers shouting to each other. Right here, with her, it was serene.

**AN: I realize that was short… and that I didn't end it on a cliffhanger… and that where I DID end it could easily be the end of the story… But I don't want it to be. SOOOO!!! I'll write more. **

**Review! Pwease!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I have no idea what I'm doing here… If anyone has any ideas as to where I should go from here, PLEASE!!! Lend me a hand… or just your thoughts. I don't want to be flooded with rogue dismembered hands. That would be gross.**

**I also just enrolled in a medical assisting training thing, so for the next 36 weeks, if I don't update regularly, I apologize, but I really do need to focus on my studies. I'll try to update once more before I start on Monday, no guarantees though.**

**Disclaimer: They ain't mine. *hmph grumble grumble grumble***

Mal knew he was losing a lot of blood. He knew that Karáh was still in danger until the chip in her was destroyed. But all he cared about right now was that he was holding the woman he had fallen in love with in a matter of days.

He could hear Jayne shout from the next room over. They needed to get out of there. Havers was dead, But they weren't in the clear just yet.

"In here!" Mal begrudgingly released the nearly catatonic Karáh and stood up with a great effort. He extended a hand to her. "Karáh… sweetheart, we need to go now. I can't carry you out of here."

She slowly lifted her head to him and stared at his hand as if she didn't understand its meaning.

"We need to go, Karáh," Mal repeated as he painfully bent down to lift her hand in his. He pulled her to her feet, ignoring the pain in his side.

Jayne and Zoe burst into the room and took in the sight of their captain bleeding heavily, holding Karáh's hand gently in his own.

Mal couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was bruised, bloody, and beaten. Her hair was caked with blood, her eyes black, tears carved streams of order through the chaos covering her cheeks. Despite all of this, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Jayne cleared his throat, breaking the moment. "Captain, we gotta get goin', or them guards are going to start followin' us."

Mal pulled Karáh along. She stumbled, putting pressure on her injured ankle and cried out.

"It's alright. It's alright. I got ya," Mal told her as he draped her arm around his shoulders. "I can't handle a weapon right now. You two cover us. We're making a break for the door."

The four of them headed towards the back entrance as fast as Mal and Karáh could move in their injured states. Their path lead them through increasingly charred walls and ceilings, remnants from their last visit. Mal saw the bullet holes dimpling the already marred furnishings.

Slowly but surely, the guards Jayne and Zoe had temporarily incapacitated began to regain focus and bullets started whizzing by Mal's head.

"Jayne! Guards!" Mal warned.

Together, Jayne and Zoe shot down their aggressors and Mal was able to half drag, half carry Karáh out of the building for the last time.

Luckily, Zoe hadn't landed the shuttle too far away from the main house. Twenty yards of perilous dodging of bullets, Mal was carefully dumping Karáh into the shuttle while Jayne was slamming the door behind him and Zoe.

"Take us home, Zoe. Tell the doc to be ready for her," Mal ordered.

Zoe took a cursory look at her captain and immediately saw the growing blood stain on his shirt. "I'll tell him to be ready for the both of you," she amended.

His first mate deftly piloted the shuttle to Serenity while Mal and Jayne did their best to make Karáh more comfortable.

The first thing Mal decided needed to be done was reset her dislocated arm.

"Karáh, baby, this is going to hurt, but it'll make you feel much better, ok?" he warned her. He gripped her upper arm in one hand and her shoulder in the other. "On the count of three, alright? One… two…" He pushed the disjointed appendage back into place. "Three."

Karáh gave him a half smile through the pain in her eyes. "Knew you were going to do that," she told him with a wince, the edges of her vision growing dark.

Jayne, who had been looking for the first aid kit, grew frustrated in his futile search and kicked the wall.

"Where in the gorram hell is that box?" he asked Mal.

Mal gave him a dumbfounded look. "Where they always are. Up next to the pilot's chair," he told him and pointed him in the right direction.

Karáh pawed at his shirt lightly. "Mal…"she sighed. "Mal I-I'm…" she didn't finish her sentence as her hand fell to his lap and she slid softly off the bench, puddling on the floor.

"Dammit. Zoe, get us to Serenity ASAP. She needs to see the doc yesterday," Mal shouted and he bent to cradle her head.

**AN: I'm sorry! I know it was short! I'll TRRRYYYYY to post once more before Monday, but that seems fairly unlikely. **

**Please review and tell me what you though/where you'd like to see this thing going.**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Sorry for making y'all wait! I've been busy busy busy with school. (Medical Assisting, here I come!... I already know how to draw blood. It's super fun! :D) **

**Also: If any of you have Twitter and would like to follow me, I've been told I'm a hoot'n'a'half! Message me and I'll tell ya what to hunt for!**

**Disclaimer: Joss reigns supreme in awesomeness. I could never hope to come up with characters as awesome as his! (feel free to disagree, though)**

Jayne rushed to Mal's side and started to clean his captain up.

"Not me…. She needs it more," Mal protested.

Jayne grunted. "You both ruttin' need it." He pushed Mal's hands out of the way and bandaged the wound as quickly as he could.

There was something to be said about being a mercenary. Jayne knew not only how to create wounds, but also how to temporarily decrease their severity. In less than a minute, he had fixed Mal up as best he could and moved onto Karáh.

"Captain, we're docking. Best get ready. The doc is waiting for the two of you," Zoe called from the front.

"Got it. Jayne, get her. I don't think I can carry her right now," Mal instructed as he painfully lifted himself from the floor next to Karáh.

The shuttle doors opened to reveal Simon and River waiting.

"God, she's going into shock. We need to get her to the infirmary _now_,"Simon said immediately as he rushed in. "Jayne, help me carry her. Mal, can you walk?" he asked, noticing the ever growing red spot on Mal's shirt.

Together, Simon and Jayne carefully lifted the unconscious girl

"Yeah… Don't worry about me. Just focus on her. I'll patch myself up or something," Mal answered.

"No. You won't. I gotcha, Captain," Zoe told him as she came up behind him.

As Simon worked on the unconscious Karáh on the main table, Zoe cleaned and sutured Mal's wound.

"Kaylee, go tell Wash that we'll need to be stationary for me to do any sort of patching up," Simon asked.

"Get us to the other side of this rock. We gotta get away from this place specifically," Mal instructed.

"Mal-" Simon started.

"It'll take 5 minutes, that's less time than it'll take you to even think about doing anything surgical," Mal explained. "Tell him to do it NOW," he emphasized.

Kaylee ran off to tell the pilot of the change of plans leaving everyone else in the cramped infirmary.

"Mal?" Simon called from his exam table where he was running scans on Karáh.

"What?" Mal grunted.

"She's…"

"Bun meets oven," River interrupted.

"She's pregnant?" Mal exclaimed.

"I was going to say she cracked a few ribs and is going to be sore for a few days. River?" he asked turning to look at his sister.

"Baby on board," she replied with more than an air of certainty.

"I-it's not showing up on the scans. Must be new… Captain?"

Mal was staring at Karáh's unconscious form, shock clearly registering on his face. "W-what? Me? You think – no. Not me. We never…"

"C'mon Cap'n, we all know'd you was together," Jayne remarked.

"No, not like that… not when she was … we never…"

"536th time is the charm!" River called as she skipped away, excited at the prospect of not being the youngest anymore.

They all looked at each other as though wondering what that could have meant, but secretly understanding River's usually cryptic messages.

The Havers bloodline would live on.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Karáh was slowly coming to, the fluids Simon had given her beginning to kick in.

"What's going on?"

Mal sighed. "I should tell her," he said softly.

Everyone besides Mal and Simon cleared out of the infirmary.

"Karáh, sweetie…" Mal paused not knowing how to break the news to her.

"What?" she asked, worry written all over her face. "What's wrong with me? A-am I going to die?" she asked, misreading the distress on Mal's face.

"Oh God! Nothing like that!... it's… you're… pregnant…" he told her barely whispering the last word.

Her eyes grew wide, tears welling up and bursting over the ridge of her lower lid. "He did it. That wángbādàn finally did it."

Mal had never heard h Karáh use words like that. He had seen her upset, but she had always been reserved in her insults.

"It's going to be ok, darlin'. I'm here for you. Anything you want, we'll do it," Mal tried to assure her as he gingerly gathered her in his arms.

"I want it gone," she moaned into his sleeve. "I don't want to remember that man at all! I don't want a constant reminder of what he did to me!"

Simon nodded. "I'll take care of it in the morning."

She cried for hours until she fell asleep.

A few hours later Mal was suddenly awoken to the sound of bare feet pounding down the metallic hallways of Serenity.

He rolled over thinking River was running rampant as usual, but as he turned, he realized that Karáh was not on the exam table a few feet away.

The warning horn and tell-tale hiss of Serenity's cargo bay being opened.

She was running. Mal shot up off of his makeshift bed in the infirmary and began chasing after her.

Her feet were pounding beneath her; driving into the pavement as though she was trying to break through to the other side of this world. Her ribs burned with each movement and her lungs felt as though they were going to burst.

Twigs and branches tore at her skin and clothes.

Tears obscured her vision. Her bare foot caught on an exposed root, causing her to faceplant.

Her world was in shambles and she had to get away from it. Running was the only thing that made any sort of sense at the moment.

She ran and ran until she broke through the woods into a clearing surrounding a manmade lake.

She fell to her knees and relieved what little contents she had in her stomach.

Somewhere behind her a twig snapped. She didn't even bother to look up. Whatever or whoever it was, if they were here for her, they could have her. She had given up.

Wordlessly, Mal knelt down beside her in the soft grass and held her.

She had never felt such pure and unsullied love as this. For a man to selflessly hold her without asking questions, without wanting it to go further… She let herself fall into it.

**AN: SOOOO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! I've been oober busy with class and flirting with hot army boy to write! (Flimsy excuse, I know) I really hope to finish this soon, so I can fully devote time to my studies and not feel like I'm totally letting you lovelies down!**

**Here's your Chinese lesson for the night:**

**Wángbādàn: Bastard (Turtle egg/ turtle child) Yeah, I'm not sure why that means bastard either.**


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